On the Other Side of Values1

The concept of values is currently enjoying renewed interest in sociology; indeed, many claim that it must be treated as central to any theory of action. As introduced to American sociology from Europe by Parsons, it was transformed from a condition of possibility into an intrinsic element of the action system that could link abstract cultural imperatives to patterns of concrete behavior. When Parsons’s system dissolved, the notion of values fractured, some scholars treating values as abstract imperatives and others as behavior patterns, but they foundered on issues of the separation of validity and existence. Subtracting the notion of validity from values returns us to the concept of interests, dyadic relations between actors and objects characterized by intention, attention, and extension—in other words, investment of self. This notion of interests lacks the explanatory instability characteristic of that of values. Recasting discussions of values in terms of interests can clarify issues central to our d...